Needle-lubricating mechanism



Aug. 22, 1939. H. E. ELLIO'VTT 2,170,554

NEEDLE-LUBRICATING MECHANISM Filed Nov. 16, 1937 Patented Aug. 22, 1939V UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,170,554 NEEDLE-LUBRICATING MECHANISMHarold Ernest Elliott, Leicester, England, assignor to United ShoeMachinery Corporation, Paterson, N. J., a corporation of New JerseyApplication November 16, 1937, Serial No. 174,786 In Great BritainDecember 14, 1936 7 Claims. (01. 112-43) The present invention relatesto sewing maneedle remains thoroughly coated with oil durchines, andmore particularly to methods of and ing the time the machine is at rest,thus enabling mechanism for lubricating the needle of sewing the needleto cool without particles of material machines which are employed forsewing outsoles drying thereon and firmly adhering thereto.

to boots and shoes. Examples of machinesfor Another feature of theinvention consists in the 5, this purpose are illustrated and describedin the provision of a method of and mechanism for patent to Ashworth No.1,169,909, dated Feblubricating the needle of sewing machines upon ruary1, 1916, and in the patent to Gouldbourn stopping the machine andsubsequent to the et al., No. 2,056,670, dated October 6, 1936.withdrawal of the needle from the Work, where- 10 It has been founddesirable in machines of the in the time in the last cycle of themachine at 10 type described in the aforesaid patents, particuwhich thelubricant is squirted onto the needle larly in the case of machineswhich are operated may be varied, in order that the lubricant may atcomparatively high speeds, to insure that the be applied to the desiredportion of the needle needle, after its withdrawal from the work uponlengthwise thereof.

stopping the machine and before the machine Other features of theinvention consists in cer- 15 comes to rest, is thoroughly lubricated inorder to tain constructions and arrangements of parts preventstickyparticles of tanning, leather, and whereby the amount of lubricantsquirted onto the like from adhering to the hot needle and the needlewhen the machine is stopped may be drying thereon, with the result thatthe needle is readily adjusted, and whereby the lubricant is frequentlybroken when the machine is again squirted onto the needle only uponstopping the 20 started due to the needle sticking in the needle machineand not when the treadle or other conguide. 7 trolling means is actuatedmerely to reduce the I It is, therefore, one of the several objects ofspeed of the machine. the present invention to provide a method of andThe several features of the present invention mechanism for lubricatingthe needle of asewing will become apparent from the following de- 5machine which will effectively lubricate the neescription of a specificembodiment of the indle upon stopping the machine, whereby the ventiontaken with reference to the accompanybreakage of needles upon startingthe machine ing drawings. The said embodiment will for due to stickingof the needle in the needle guide convenience be described as beingembodied in may be entirely prevented or at least reduced to a sewingmachine of the particular construction 30 a Substantial degree.disclosed in the aforesaid U. S. patent to Gould- Another object of theinvention is to provide bourn et al. No. 2,056,670. a needle lubricatingsystem in which the lubri- In the drawing Figure 1 is a View in lefthand cant is forcibly applied directly to the needle side elevation oftheillustrative embodiment of without the intervention of a brush, pad,or other the invention, part of the head of a sewing ma- 35 similartransfer device. chine to which it is fitted being shown in broken Withthese and other objects in view, a feature line; Figure 2 is a rear viewof certain parts of the present invention consists in the method shownin Figure '1; and Figure 3 is a detail of lubricating the needle ofsewing machines, and sectional view showing a portion of the needle,

40 in the provision in such machines of mechanism needle guide, anddischarge end of the lubricat- 40 for lubricating the needle thereof,wherein lubriing fluid conduit. cant is squirted or forcibly projecteddirectly The said illustrative embodiment includes at 011130 the needleitself, as distinguished o pbracket I secured to the rear of the machinehead plication y means of a brush or by bein dropped near the left handside. The bracket I has se-- '011130 a D ed by the eed e guide. cured toit a lubricant supplying pump 3, from 45 More specifically, a feature ofthe present inwhich lubricant is conveyed through a pipe 5 to ventionconsists in the'metho'd of, and in the the vicinity of the needle l6,thepump 3 being provision in a sewing machine of mechanism for, similarto that shown and described in U- S- l r tiris' needle Wh reby lubricanti patent to Harold E. Elliott No. 2,051,250 dated squirted onto theneedle, and if desirdyalso onto August 18, 1936. The lubricant supplyingpump 50 e e d guide, just at or slig y be t 3 in the illustrativeembodiment is positioned machine comes to rest at a time in the lastcycle on the machine at the left hand side of the head of the machinewhen the needle has withdrawn of the machine at a higher level than, anda from the work and will not enter it again until little forwardly of,the rocking shaft 6 referred the machine has started, with the resultthat the to as 611 in'aforesaid U. S. Patent No. 2,056,670. 55

The bracket I has pivoted to it on a horizontal pin 1 extendinglaterally of the machine a forwardly extending pump actuating arm 9, theforward end of which has adjustably secured in it a screw II, the lowerend of which is positioned above the plunger I2 of the pump and isarranged on downward movement of the arm 9 to depress the plunger 52 andcause lubricant in a reservoir of the pump to be forced along the pipeand to be discharged therefrom. The

pump actuating arm 9 has secured to its upper face about mid-way betweenits pivot I and its forward end a plate I3 the rear margin of whichextends part way over an opening I5 passing upwardly through the arm 9at the rear of the plate I3. Passing upwardly through the opening I4 inthe arm 9 is the upper end of a bar I5 which near its upper end hasformed on its forward side a shoulder I! on which the rear margin of theplate I3 is supported when, as will hereinafter appear, the arm 9 hasbeen moved to a raised position, to hold the arm 9 in its raisedposition. The bar I5 extends downwardly from its upper end at the rearof the rocking shaft 6 of the machine and at its lower end is pivoted toa bracket I9 secured on the head of the machine by a horizontal pin 2!extending laterally of the machine. The pin ZI is positioned in themachine rearwardly of and lower than the rocking shaft 6 and the frontface of the bar I5 lies comparatively close to the rocking shaft.

The pump actuating arm 9 has connected to it the upper end of adownwardly extending rod 23. The upper end of the rod has formed in it aslot 25 through which passes a pin 2'! secured in the arm 9. The lowerend of the rod 23 is pivotally connected to an arm 29 of the clutchcontrolling mechanism of the machine similar to the arm referred to as653 in the aforesaid U. S. Patent No. 2,056,670 which in thatspecification is described as being connected to the clutch controllingtreadle of the machine and is swung upwardly when the forward end of thetreadle is depressed to cause the machine to operate. The arm 29 towhich the lower end of the rod 23is connected has extending from its hubtowards the right hand side of the machine an arm 3| to which the lowerend of a tension spring 33 is connected. The upper end of the tensionspring 33 is connected to the pump actuating arm 9. A member 35 securedon the rocking shaft 6 (for convenience a member similar to the blockreferred to as 615 in U. S. Patent No. 2,056,670) carries a roll 31which is rotatably mounted on an eccentric portion of a pin 39 securedin the member 35 but rotatable therein. The roll 31 is so positioned onthe member that it is engaged by the forward face of the bar I5 whichpasses through the opening I l in the pump actuating arm 9 against whichroll 31 the bar I 5 is held by a spring M connected to the bar and tothe bracket I which carries the pump.

When the forward end of the clutch controlling treadle is depressed bythe operator to cause the machine to operate the rear end of the leveris raised and the arm 29 which is connected to the treadle is swungupwardly and the arm 3| extending from the hub of the arm 29 is swungdownwardy. Upward movement of the arm 29 causes the'lower end of theslot 25 in the upper end of the rod 23 to engage the pin 21 in the pumpactuating arm 9 and to move the arm upwardly, which arm 9, when themachine is at rest, occupies a lowered position in engagement with a lug43 on the bracket I on which it is pivoted,

in which position the arm is holding the pump plunger I2 down againstthe action of its spring, i. e., the spring referred to as I2 in U. S.Patent No. 2,051,250. The upward movement of the arm 9 allows the pumpplunger to be raised by its spring in readiness to be moved down toforce lubricant through the pipe 5 onto the needle I6 or needle guide.When the forward end of the treadle is depressed, the rocking shaft 6 isturned as described in U. S. Patent No. 2,056,670 and the roll 3? whichengages the forward face of the bar I5 is thereby moved into a positionwhich allows the bar I5 to be swung forwardly of the machine about itspivot 2I so that as the pump actuating arm 9 is moved upwardly the rearmargin of the plate I3 on the arm 9 snaps over the shoulder I! on thebar I5 and the pump actuating lever 9 is thereby held in its raisedposition temporarily even if the treadle is released. Also as the clutchcontrolling treadle is depressed, the spring 33 connecting the pumpactuating arm and the arm 3| is further tensioned both by the downwardmovement of the arm 3I and the upward movement of the pump actuating arm9.

During operation of the machine the pump actuating arm 9 is held in itsraised position by the engagement of the plate I 3 on the arm 9 with theshoulder I! on the bar I5, and the slot 25 in the upper end of the rod23, which is connected to the pump actuating arm, permits the clutchcontrolling treadle to be raised by the spring 33, which is connected tothe pump actuating arm and to the arm 3|, either to vary the speed ofthe machine or to stop the machine, the usual treadle raising spring ofthe machine being dispensed with.

The slot 25 in the upper end of the rod is sufficiently long to allowthe treadle to be fully raised to stop the machine, and as the machinecomes to rest the rocking shaft 6 is rotated in the manner described inU. S. Patent No, 2,056,670, and this movement of the rocking shaftcauses the roll 31, supported thereby, to swing the bar I5 having nearits upper end the shoulder H, which is then supporting the pumpactuating arm 9, rearwardly, thereby moving the shoulder H from beneaththe plate I3 on the arm 9 and a1- lowing the arm to be rapidly moveddownwardly by the spring 33 connected to it to operate the pump plunger.The rapid downward movement of the pump actuating arm by its springwhich is considerably stronger than the pump plunger spring causeslubricant to be squirted from the pipe onto that portion of the needleextending forwardly from the needle guide 34 or onto the needle guideitself or both onto the needle and the needle guide.

To enable lubricant squirted onto the top of the needle guide to readilyflow therefrom onto the needle behind and in front of the guide, theneedle guide of the machine may have a narrow opening formed inv itwhich extends lengthwise of the needle guiding passage in the guide fromone end to the other of the passage, the opening passing from the topface of the needle guide into the needle guiding passage. This openingis preferably additional to the usual opening II in the pump actuatingarm 9' which engages the upper end of the pump plunger l2 and by itsadjustment varies the amount of movement of the pump plunger after itcommences to force lubricant through the pipe and therefore controls theamount of lubricant expelled from the pipe.

The time in the last machine cycle before the machine comes to rest atwhich the lubricant is squirted onto the needle may be varied, thuscausing the lubricant to be applied to varying parts of the needlelengthwise thereof, by adjustment of the position of the roll 31 on themember which carries it by rotation of the eccentric pin 39 on which theroll is mounted and therefore adjustment of the time at which the pumpactuating arm is released by the shoulder on the bar.

The discharge end of the pipe through which lubricant is conveyed to theneedle is preferably arranged so that when the lubricant is squirtedfrom the pipe the needle guide is in such a position that the lubricantis squirted onto the top of the front end of the needle guide anddirectly onto the needle in front of the guide.

The illustrative embodiment may be used in a sewing machine having alsoa lubricating mechanism of the kind described in U. S. Patent No.2,051,250 in which case the lubricant applied to the needle by theillustrative embodiment supplements that applied by the latter mechanismand by its sudden squirting action ensures: that the lubricant isapplied to the needle at the desired time in the last cycle of themachine.

The nature and scope of the invention having been indicated, and aconstruction embodying the several features of the invention having beenspecifically described, What is claimed is:

1. In a sewing machine, the combination with a needle, of a needlelubricating mechanism comprising a reservoir for lubricating fluid, alubricating fluid conduit extending from the reservoir to a point in thevicinity of the needle, and means for squirting lubricant from theconduit directly onto the needle.

2. In a sewing machine, the combination with a needle, of a needlelubricating mechanism comprising a reservoir for lubricating fluid, alubricating fluid conduit extending from the reservoir to a point in thevicinity of the needle, and means for squirting lubricant from theconduit onto a predetermined portion of: the needle lengthwise thereofand during movement of the same.

3. In a sewingmachine, the combination with a needle, of a needlelubricating mechanism comprising a reservoir for lubricating fluid, alubricating fluid conduit extending from the reservoir to a point in thevicinity of the needle, and. means operating upon stopping the machineand before the machine comes to rest for squirting lubricating fluidfrom the conduit onto the needle subsequent to the withdrawal of theneedle from the work.

4. In a sewing machine, the combination with a needle, of a needlelubricating mechanism comprising a reservoir for lubricating fluid, alubricating fluid conduit extending from the reservoir to a point in thevicinity of the needle, means actuated upon stopping the machine forsquirting lubricant onto the needle during the last cycle of the machineand subsequent to the Withdrawal of the needle from the work, and meansfor varying the time in the last cycle of the machine at which thelubricant is squirted onto the needle, whereby the lubricant may beapplied to varying portions of the needle length thereof.

5. In a sewing machine, the combination with a needle, of a needlelubricating mechanism comp-rising a reservoir for lubricating fluid, aconduit for conducting lubricant from \the reservoir to a point in thevicinity of the needle, means comprising a plunger for forcing lubricantthrough the conduit, means operating upon stopping the machine toactuate the plunger suddenly, whereby lubricant is forced through theconduit and squirted from the end of the same onto the needle during thelast cycle of the machine and subsequent to the Withdrawal of the needlefrom the work, and means for varying the amount of lubricating fluidsquirted from the 1 conduit.

6. In a sewing machine, the combination with a needle, of a needlelubricating mechanism comprising a reservoir for lubricating fluid, alubricating fluid conduit extending from the reservoir to a point in thevicinity of the needle, a plunger for forcing lubricant through theconduit, and means for actuating said plunger including a member adaptedto be tensioned upon starting the machine and retained in tensionedcondition during the continued operation thereof, and to be releasedupon stopping the machine to cause the plunger suddenly to be actuated,whereby lubricant is forced through the conduit and squirted therefromonto the needle subsequent to its withdrawal from the work '7. In asewing machine, the combination with a needle, of mechanism for applyingliquid to the needle at the end of the sewing operation to preventparticles of material from sticking and drying thereon while the machineis at rest, said mechanism comprising a reservoir for the liquid, aliquid conduit extending from the reservoir to a point adjacent theneedle, and means for squirting the liquid directly onto the needle atthe end of the sewing operation.

HAROLD ERNEST ELLIOTT.

CERTIFICA E OF CORRECTION. Patent'No. z,17o,55u. August 52, 19 9,

' HAROLD ERNEST ELLIOTT.

It is hereby' certified that error appears in the printed specificationof the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: Page 5 sec0nd column, line 18, claim 1;, for the word "length"-' read lengthwise;and that the said Letters Patent should be. read with this correctiontherein that the same ma conform to the record of the case in the PatentOffice.

Signed and sealed this 51st day of October, A; D. 1959..

Henry Vari Aradale, (Seal) Acting Commissioner of Patents

